Seton Hall Prep basketball team extends win streak to 10; improves to 15-1; earns No. 1 seed in 70th Essex County Tournament

WEST ORANGE – The Seton Hall Prep varsity basketball team won two games this past week to extend its winning streak to 10 games and improve to a 15-1 record.

The defending champion Pirates received the No. 1 seed in the 70th Essex County Tournament. SHP received byes in the preliminary rounds and will host a first-round game on Feb. 13. East Side is the No. 2 seed and University is the No. 3 seed.

Senior guard T.J. Gibbs had 34 points, five rebounds, and five steals; and senior forward Zach Keller had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in the 76-51 win at Barringer on Jan. 28 in Newark.

Junior forward Treyvon Bennett had eight points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Pirates, who trailed 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, but went on an 18-0 run to take a 30-16 lead before Barringer scored with 2:56 left in the half.

The Pirates traveled to Fort Lee High School on Saturday, Jan. 30, to participate in the Coaches vs. Cancer, defeating Teaneck, 82-50.

Gibbs had 21 points; Bennett had 13 points and seven rebounds; and senior guard Stephen Ferraro had 12 points, three assists and four steals for the Pirates, who led 13-9 at the end of the first quarter and went on a 16-0 run to take a 29-9 lead before Teaneck scored with 2:12 left in the half.

Junior guard Austin Williams scored 10 points off the bench for SHP.

Following the game, Ferraro said, “We have to come out stronger. That 16-0 run really woke us up and gave us momentum and confidence.”

When asked about his team’s depth, SHP head coach Kevin Williams said, “With the exception of a couple of games, our depth has been big for us. T.J. Gibbs is our leading scorer, but we share the basketball a lot. That is when we are at our best, when we are sharing the ball and a lot of guys are scoring.”